Good stuff man! I have a 20th anniversary RG550 in Roadflare red and years ago I put a Satriani set of Dimarzios ( a Mo-Joe and a PAF-Joe) in the neck and bridge which are basically modified versions of the PAF Pro and Tone zone. I agree completely that this made a huge improvement to an already spectacular guitar. I did however leave the middle pickup stock as it seemed to work well with the Satch set in the split positions. Shred On!
with edge tremolo is it normal to go slightly out of tune when you use it hard or no ? i just bought a rg550 and when im diving for example it become a little flat ( only noticeable on tuner ) and when i stretch they go back to tune
I always change the pups, only because I like trying out different things. Even on my higher quality guitars. I like color schemes, I like trying out different pups to check out the tones etc..
I have my rg550 arriving tomorrow! Very excited! I will be having a good trial with the stock pick ups but love the idea of upgrading to dimarzio's. Especially as a big fan of Gilbert's tone and obviously ridiculous ability! I wondered how this video has aged in terms of the sound and love you have for this guitar and pick up configuration and whether you would still recommend the same pick up changes you made or would you explore other options now time has moved on? Appreciate all the great content you upload!
I'm thinking about getting a tone zone to put in a Jackson king v. The SD JB that is currently in the bridge is just a little to muffled and would like a little more articulation and those shredding notes to scream.
i have two guitars a mexican strat and an Ibanez tele copy with humbuckys. I havent changed either. But in the past I have upgraded pick ups and tuners and changed pick guards, on other guitars;-) Im thinking about getting some noiseless pups for the strat,
i dropped a seymour duncan parallel axis blues saraceno pickup in my 97' rg550. made a big difference. nothing wrong with the stock v8 pickup., but the seymour is awesome
at 2:03 you had a green ghost behind you. It was scary. 🙀Pickups for me too. Except for my PRS where the pickups are absolutely perfect. So, I changed the way I have my pickup selector switching. So I guess it's still pickup related... But you really should look into that ghost...
I know what you mean with the no friction tone pot....I've newly acquired a Charvel DK24 HSS Shell Pink....idk why I told it's exact make and colour...frankly, they were in my spellcheck's memory, I didn't even have to type them, just hit enter, enter,enter, yep! I did have to type this long little gasbag, tho, didn't I!?!! P.S. Oh yeah, but the no friction tone pots...they're the sh*t, hey!? (In Aussie, that means good!)
Awesome man 🤙 I am looking at pickups as well , was going to do the black / yellow split Evo2 set. In the name of originality I will go the double yellows lol. Perfect timing on the video ,top quality and entertaining as always.
Hi anthony, i am using the same guitar as yours. planned to follow your nice pickup configuration.can you give me the exact model for the neck and bridge pickup?kinda confuse with the F-space thingy.😅also, the standard velvet pickup ( DP175SBK) without custom color thingy will fit in it ?
I have a 93 RG470 that I plan to change the pickups to Rainmaker, HS-3 and Dreamcatcher pickups. It has the V7, S1 and V8 pickups. The V8 just doesn't have the weight in tone that I am looking for. Chords sound thin and notes just don't have color.
The new Genesis models have a volute between neck & headstock, while the original 87 models had a scarf joint. The volute is actually an improvement, because it prevents the known issue with cracks between neck/headstock that many older Ibanez models had. Other than that, they're pretty much identical. Some people claim the neck is different on the Genesis, but that's probably because back in the 80's there were still inconsistencies with manufacturing. Nowadays with CNC machines, pretty much every neck/body of a guitar model has identical dimensions.
The intro sounded a little buckethead -ish, so i figured it might have been some Dmarzios, and then when you said Tone Zone. I was like that explains my suspicion. Good video!
Oh, a jumper in June. So climate change must be a hoax then? Oh, look outside. It‘s raining. So deserts must be a hoax then, right? ^^ Nice guitar though, one on my list definitely. I would think that an investment in an amplifier instead than in the humbuckers would have made a more huge difference, but I guess you already got quite an amplifier ;).
@@ACMusic it’s sounds awesome. Clean on the neck is rich and clear, the splits on 2 and 4 are great for funk and dire straits tones. Add some dirt and the bridge really sings and has great harmonics, the neck gives a cocked wah type lead tone - think slash- Overall it covers all bases of my playing. I have done the red bishop magik arm mod to the trem as well, so no more clicking
I own and play only RGs since I started as a kid round 16 years ago. I’ve played a few others of the “classic” styles everyone loves but their not as versatile or fast feeling or capable as the classic RG. Hell my 20th anniversary 2007 RG550 is my go to! It’s still all stock to the stock V1/S1/V2 pickups are perfect. Still trying to get the Genesis 550 in purple neon but their still out. That has the even thinner super wizard neck with a 17/19mm thickness vs my wizard with a 18/20mm thickness 👀 plus it still has the tilt joint!
Did you have to get both your humbuckers F-spaced??? I'm reading differen't opinions on this. Some say you have to get just the bridge pickup only F-spaced and can get the neck regular spaced. But I was told to get both F-spaced...I was thinking of going with a Super Distortion in the bridge and a PAF Pro in neck. But want to make sure I get the pickups right for the guitar.
@@NYV7677 hey man. I just bought an rg550 genesis and was also going to put the Norton and Zone in mine. How do you like them in yours? So F-spaced in the neck lines up perfect huh?? Middle pick-up? Thanks👍🤘
@@ACMusic A lot of people say its much better. Its very easy to swap the magnets (plenty of videos). There's a ceramic in the neck and an alnico in the bridge. By reversing them you get a hotter bridge and warmer neck pickup. Its a popular free mod
Actually you've went old-school Vai on this. My old JEM has that exact pickup configuration (wasn't sure about the middle pickup at first because for the old flower patterns it just said 'JEM single' coil which is apparently the evolution pickup). :)
with edge tremolo is it normal to go slightly out of tune when you use it hard or no ? i just bought a rg550 and when im diving for example it become a little flat ( only noticeable on tuner ) and when i stretch they go back to tune
A new set of pickups can breathe a whole new life in your axe. In the past I had a couple of times where I wanted to sell a guitar but was glad I didn't because of changing the pickups and give it a good setup. Currently I pretty much throw Fishmans in about every guitar and bass I own
I agree. I have a guitar that I actually tried selling for months after getting it because I just couldn't vibe with it, but one drunken christmas night I got to messing with it and figured out what she needed. Now she's my go to thicc girl for when i feel like doing a little chunky dunkin.
I've got one of those. The pickups are the only weakness. I like what you did with the color scheme on yours. I thought about getting a blue humbucker in the bridge position, since that's the only one I care to replace. I thought it might look sweet with a white tortoise pickguard. I also think all the black looks a little weird. That's why I wanted to break some of that up a bit.
I see the RG550 and I always have to watch. I don't mod my guitars much but I have those Yngwie pots in a few of them, They are awesome. I like the V7 and V8 pickups on my RG550 personal but the S1 does leave something to be desired. I had the Tru Velvet in a Prestige S. I was not a fan but that Evo sounds great. It's definitely a mod I'm going to consider. Thanks for the update on such a cool guitar.
with edge tremolo is it normal to go slightly out of tune when you use it hard or no ? i just bought a rg550 and when im diving for example it become a little flat ( only noticeable on tuner ) and when i stretch they go back to tune
Whenever I get a new guitar, I check it's intonation and action. I check the relief of the neck and make sure it's playable. I will also do a string change if the strings from the factory are, in any way, less than desirable. I run tests through my amps for sound quality and how well the electronics are working. Then, I consider - after playing for a week or so - if I want to upgrade the pickups. Only when I pick up a guitar specifically to be upgraded, I judge it after I hear it for a week or so.
I don't ALWAYS do any set mods to my guitars. My most frequent mod is I sand the neck and remove the finish down to the wood and then do an oil rubbed finish. It's just so smooth that I feel it is the best upgrade for not much money I can do. I used to always put EMGs in my guitars, but more and more I've found you can get a workable tone out of most pickups. I have carvin pups in my Kiesel, Duncans in my Jackson, EMGs in my ESP. I can dial in a great tone on all of them. I was over the moon with the stainless frets when I got my Kiesel so I had a local legend of a guitar tech refret my 97 ESP with stainless frets and WOW. It is quite pricey but in the end is hands down the best mod I've ever had done.
If possible could you do video on the spec of the pickups and pot, ie resistances, magnet material etc and compare values and what not to the originalstock ones. Them why you chose them over other pickups, brands, magnet materials ps pickup colour scheme looks mint by the way
Good stuff man! I have a 20th anniversary RG550 in Roadflare red and years ago I put a Satriani set of Dimarzios ( a Mo-Joe and a PAF-Joe) in the neck and bridge which are basically modified versions of the PAF Pro and Tone zone. I agree completely that this made a huge improvement to an already spectacular guitar. I did however leave the middle pickup stock as it seemed to work well with the Satch set in the split positions.
Shred On!
with edge tremolo is it normal to go slightly out of tune when you use it hard or no ? i just bought a rg550 and when im diving for example it become a little flat ( only noticeable on tuner ) and when i stretch they go back to tune
I have to wipe some fresh panny leavins on my new guitars
I always change the pups, only because I like trying out different things. Even on my higher quality guitars. I like color schemes, I like trying out different pups to check out the tones etc..
I have my rg550 arriving tomorrow! Very excited! I will be having a good trial with the stock pick ups but love the idea of upgrading to dimarzio's. Especially as a big fan of Gilbert's tone and obviously ridiculous ability! I wondered how this video has aged in terms of the sound and love you have for this guitar and pick up configuration and whether you would still recommend the same pick up changes you made or would you explore other options now time has moved on? Appreciate all the great content you upload!
Did it arrive!?!?!?!?! 😀😀
@@ACMusic got it about an hour ago! Sounds lovely, ashame my playing can't do it justice! Any thoughts on the future pick up upgrades?
I'm thinking about getting a tone zone to put in a Jackson king v. The SD JB that is currently in the bridge is just a little to muffled and would like a little more articulation and those shredding notes to scream.
I add a CTS output jack and a treble bleed if it lacks that power turned down
Should put an injector in the middle let me know I’m thinking of doing that to my Rg 550 only pickup I’m not happy with.
i have two guitars a mexican strat and an Ibanez tele copy with humbuckys. I havent changed either. But in the past I have upgraded pick ups and tuners and changed pick guards, on other guitars;-) Im thinking about getting some noiseless pups for the strat,
i dropped a seymour duncan parallel axis blues saraceno pickup in my 97' rg550. made a big difference. nothing wrong with the stock v8 pickup., but the seymour is awesome
My Charvel has Seymour Duncans in it and they truly scream!! Very different voice to the Dimarzios I'm used to.
Huge like n.18
Really a great guitar, for a great player!! You're amazing! Greetings.
Add a jackson neck and your good........lol
I would like to change my knob!
For a 550 I would replace the pickguard with H/H, move the volume to the tone spot and omit the tone, and change the switch to a oak grigsby 3-way.
To much non sence talk
at 2:03 you had a green ghost behind you. It was scary. 🙀Pickups for me too. Except for my PRS where the pickups are absolutely perfect. So, I changed the way I have my pickup selector switching. So I guess it's still pickup related...
But you really should look into that ghost...
I know what you mean with the no friction tone pot....I've newly acquired a Charvel DK24 HSS Shell Pink....idk why I told it's exact make and colour...frankly, they were in my spellcheck's memory, I didn't even have to type them, just hit enter, enter,enter, yep!
I did have to type this long little gasbag, tho, didn't I!?!!
P.S. Oh yeah, but the no friction tone pots...they're the sh*t, hey!? (In Aussie, that means good!)
Yes Luey, all about the zero friction!!
Duncan Distortion > Tone Zone
mine has a Tone Zone in bridge. PAF Pro for neck sometime !
How do you pick the pattern at the start I've been slowing the video down but i cant get it
Awesome man 🤙
I am looking at pickups as well , was going to do the black / yellow split Evo2 set.
In the name of originality I will go the double yellows lol.
Perfect timing on the video ,top quality and entertaining as always.
Hi anthony, i am using the same guitar as yours. planned to follow your nice pickup configuration.can you give me the exact model for the neck and bridge pickup?kinda confuse with the F-space thingy.😅also, the standard velvet pickup ( DP175SBK) without custom color thingy will fit in it ?
I have a 93 RG470 that I plan to change the pickups to Rainmaker, HS-3 and Dreamcatcher pickups. It has the V7, S1 and V8 pickups. The V8 just doesn't have the weight in tone that I am looking for. Chords sound thin and notes just don't have color.
I bought one of these (Desert Sun Yellow) in 1988. Wish I had it back.....
How would a new model compare to the original 87 model?
The new Genesis models have a volute between neck & headstock, while the original 87 models had a scarf joint.
The volute is actually an improvement, because it prevents the known issue with cracks between neck/headstock that many older Ibanez models had.
Other than that, they're pretty much identical.
Some people claim the neck is different on the Genesis, but that's probably because back in the 80's there were still inconsistencies with manufacturing.
Nowadays with CNC machines, pretty much every neck/body of a guitar model has identical dimensions.
I like locking tuners even with a locking nut as it is so much better for changing strings
just use the ball end ?
My tank, is full, of sperm, Im ready to bust a nut
@@ukguitarnoodle fuckin A how have I not thought of that
The intro sounded a little buckethead -ish, so i figured it might have been some Dmarzios, and then when you said Tone Zone. I was like that explains my suspicion. Good video!
Oh, a jumper in June. So climate change must be a hoax then?
Oh, look outside. It‘s raining. So deserts must be a hoax then, right? ^^
Nice guitar though, one on my list definitely.
I would think that an investment in an amplifier instead than in the humbuckers would have made a more huge difference, but I guess you already got quite an amplifier ;).
Sounds great. I have dimarzio gravity storm bridge , evo middle and paf pro neck in my rg!
Cool!! How does it sound??
@@ACMusic it’s sounds awesome. Clean on the neck is rich and clear, the splits on 2 and 4 are great for funk and dire straits tones.
Add some dirt and the bridge really sings and has great harmonics, the neck gives a cocked wah type lead tone - think slash-
Overall it covers all bases of my playing.
I have done the red bishop magik arm mod to the trem as well, so no more clicking
Tone zone.....ew.
Never had a good experience with them. Just, mud.
I own and play only RGs since I started as a kid round 16 years ago. I’ve played a few others of the “classic” styles everyone loves but their not as versatile or fast feeling or capable as the classic RG. Hell my 20th anniversary 2007 RG550 is my go to! It’s still all stock to the stock V1/S1/V2 pickups are perfect. Still trying to get the Genesis 550 in purple neon but their still out. That has the even thinner super wizard neck with a 17/19mm thickness vs my wizard with a 18/20mm thickness 👀 plus it still has the tilt joint!
Badass mods bro
It transformed it into my all time best guitar!!
when you order these pickups were they standard space or f spaced...
F spaced
@@ACMusic thanks
Did you have to get both your humbuckers F-spaced??? I'm reading differen't opinions on this. Some say you have to get just the bridge pickup only F-spaced and can get the neck regular spaced. But I was told to get both F-spaced...I was thinking of going with a Super Distortion in the bridge and a PAF Pro in neck. But want to make sure I get the pickups right for the guitar.
@@NYV7677 hey man. I just bought an rg550 genesis and was also going to put the Norton and Zone in mine. How do you like them in yours? So F-spaced in the neck lines up perfect huh?? Middle pick-up? Thanks👍🤘
Great choice of pickups. You chose my favorite ones: Tone Zone, True Velvet (even if you didn't get it in the end) and PAF
It's a beast of a guitar now!!
Have you released any music with this guitar? I'm going to upgrade the pickups on my RG550 and would love to hear yours in action some more.
Amazing video, thank's for sharing this, it make my choice sooooo much easy, as a PG fan I'm lovin it :)
You should try swapping the magnets in v7 and v8
Thanks for the tip. What does it do??
@@ACMusic A lot of people say its much better. Its very easy to swap the magnets (plenty of videos). There's a ceramic in the neck and an alnico in the bridge. By reversing them you get a hotter bridge and warmer neck pickup. Its a popular free mod
Actually you've went old-school Vai on this. My old JEM has that exact pickup configuration (wasn't sure about the middle pickup at first because for the old flower patterns it just said 'JEM single' coil which is apparently the evolution pickup). :)
with edge tremolo is it normal to go slightly out of tune when you use it hard or no ? i just bought a rg550 and when im diving for example it become a little flat ( only noticeable on tuner ) and when i stretch they go back to tune
A new set of pickups can breathe a whole new life in your axe. In the past I had a couple of times where I wanted to sell a guitar but was glad I didn't because of changing the pickups and give it a good setup. Currently I pretty much throw Fishmans in about every guitar and bass I own
I agree. I have a guitar that I actually tried selling for months after getting it because I just couldn't vibe with it, but one drunken christmas night I got to messing with it and figured out what she needed. Now she's my go to thicc girl for when i feel like doing a little chunky dunkin.
I've got one of those. The pickups are the only weakness. I like what you did with the color scheme on yours. I thought about getting a blue humbucker in the bridge position, since that's the only one I care to replace. I thought it might look sweet with a white tortoise pickguard. I also think all the black looks a little weird. That's why I wanted to break some of that up a bit.
That neck is defo an improvement on the V7 . Wow that was a long wait for the custom pickups
I see the RG550 and I always have to watch. I don't mod my guitars much but I have those Yngwie pots in a few of them, They are awesome. I like the V7 and V8 pickups on my RG550 personal but the S1 does leave something to be desired. I had the Tru Velvet in a Prestige S. I was not a fan but that Evo sounds great. It's definitely a mod I'm going to consider. Thanks for the update on such a cool guitar.
with edge tremolo is it normal to go slightly out of tune when you use it hard or no ? i just bought a rg550 and when im diving for example it become a little flat ( only noticeable on tuner ) and when i stretch they go back to tune
Like paul gilbert
Playing? Or Looks? Cos I know which I'd prefer! :-D
@@ACMusic both...
Interesting
Whenever I get a new guitar, I check it's intonation and action. I check the relief of the neck and make sure it's playable. I will also do a string change if the strings from the factory are, in any way, less than desirable. I run tests through my amps for sound quality and how well the electronics are working. Then, I consider - after playing for a week or so - if I want to upgrade the pickups. Only when I pick up a guitar specifically to be upgraded, I judge it after I hear it for a week or so.
I bet you could find that guitar with the lights off! ;-)
I've closed my eyes and I can still see it.
hahaha!!
I don't ALWAYS do any set mods to my guitars. My most frequent mod is I sand the neck and remove the finish down to the wood and then do an oil rubbed finish. It's just so smooth that I feel it is the best upgrade for not much money I can do. I used to always put EMGs in my guitars, but more and more I've found you can get a workable tone out of most pickups. I have carvin pups in my Kiesel, Duncans in my Jackson, EMGs in my ESP. I can dial in a great tone on all of them. I was over the moon with the stainless frets when I got my Kiesel so I had a local legend of a guitar tech refret my 97 ESP with stainless frets and WOW. It is quite pricey but in the end is hands down the best mod I've ever had done.
I never mod my guitars. I buy the guitar that has what I want.
If possible could you do video on the spec of the pickups and pot, ie resistances, magnet material etc and compare values and what not to the originalstock ones. Them why you chose them over other pickups, brands, magnet materials
ps pickup colour scheme looks mint by the way
That’s a tinny thin sounding guitar
where to find the proper 7mm tool for adjust RG 550 ?
eBay